


I’ll be right by your side until 3005

by falloutboiruto



Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Genre: 5 Times, Awkward attempts at flirting(?), Coming Out, Coming of Age, Ficlet Collection, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, LGBTQ Themes, Loneliness, awkward tweens being awkward, hello and welcome to my sad fanfic about queer identity and self-discovery and self-acceptance, the only gay in the village-syndrome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-06-29 14:53:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19832524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/falloutboiruto/pseuds/falloutboiruto
Summary: When just simply existing as yourself becomes all too alienating, it turns out that good friends are the ones that keep on pushing.Five times Mitsuki said the wrong thing and one time an unexpected good thing happened, times three.





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This fanfic was partly inspired by a request by AO3 user Mitsukithetsuki11, and I really hope you'll like it! :) I put my own spin on it and made it less dramatic and more comedic so I hope i didn't stray too far from your actual idea lol. xD
> 
> title inspired by the song v. 3005 by childish gambino  
> beta read by reaperduckling

**I. Boruto 1.0**

They were in the supermarket doing some snack shopping for their upcoming mission, but something caught Mitsuki’s eye in the fruits section. Something very yellow. Mitsuki stared, transfixed, at the strange fruit.

“Do you want to buy some bananas?” Boruto asked.

“If that’s what those are called, not really,” Mitsuki said. “They just really remind me of your hair.”

Boruto puffed himself up, much like a blowfish or an angry cat.

“My hair looks nothing like that!” he fumed, crossing his arms and tapping his foot.

Sarada, who had apparently been eavesdropping the entire time from her position at the bread section doing some actual grocery shopping(and not just standing around and staring at random things like Mitsuki and Boruto were doing) swaggered over to them, grabbed a bunch of bananas and held them up for comparison.

“I think they look pretty much exactly alike in both color and general shape and structure,” she said, faux-casually and physically shaking with suppressed giggles. “Good call, Mitsuki.”

Boruto huffed overdramatically and suddenly seemed very preoccupied with kicking at imaginary gravel on the floor. Mitsuki had an inkling of a feeling that Boruto didn’t appreciate his compliment the way Mitsuki thought he’d do.

“I didn’t mean it in a bad way,” Mitsuki said. “I like your hair.” He did think so, it looked like it'd be very soft to the touch.

“Really?” Boruto said. “Then why’d you compare it to _bananas_ of all things?”

“Hm,” Mitsuki said. “I don’t know.”

Sarada looked between them like she had stopped finding the situation funny, but she said nothing. Mitsuki took that as a cue and decided to stop talking for now.

**II. Cho Cho**

“Hey, do you want to go with me to the movies tonight or something? We could watch something you’d like, uh, whatever it is that you like?” Cho Cho asked. Something about how nervously she was holding onto her bag of potato chips made the cogs turn in Mitsuki’s head, albeit very slowly like they were covered in a thick spider web.

“Why?”

“I mean, like…” Cho Cho said flippantly.

“Like what?”

“A date. Do you know what that is?”

“Not really, no.”

Cho Cho now eyed him like she didn’t want to explain the meaning of the aforementioned “date” and had started to regret asking him about it altogether. Hm.

“Is it a romantic thing?” Mitsuki guessed.

“Uh, not anymore!” Cho Cho said.

"Fair enough. Well, I'd love to hang out though."

Cho Cho was slowly backing away at this point, which Mitsuki took as a sign that it was not going to happen.

"Actually, I already have plans with Sarad- _I mean_ , Sumire!” Cho Cho said. “Silly me, I forgot. _Ha ha ha_! Catch you later, alligator!”

Then she ran away as fast as she could, leaving Mitsuki feeling mostly amused, but a little bit sad. As he had said, he would’ve loved to hang out with her. Cho Cho’s rose-tinted skewed worldview was very interesting in a way that was both hilarious (to observe) and a little bit sad (as it could get her involved in dangerous situations), but he had a feeling that he should keep that opinion to himself.

**III. Boruto 2.0**

Mitsuki kept saying the _wrong_ things to Boruto. Him expressing his utmost admiration for Boruto never went the way he’d hoped it would, as the standard response would be:

_“Aw, uh, thanks?” Boruto said awkwardly, scratching at his neck for the lack of a better answer._

Which upon returning to Konoha after the whole running away fiasco turned into:

_“Aw, thanks! I guess?” Boruto said, slightly less awkwardly and smiling sheepishly._

It was better, but still not the ideal. At this point, Mitsuki did not know what the ideal was. Maybe something less awkward and maybe a bit more _mutually_ appreciative? He would have to think about that, but at this point, he was kind of used to not getting his _point_ across, honestly.

**IV. The entirety of Team 7**

They were on a Team 7 mission, chasing down some bandits through a forest and whatnot. Piece of cake. Sarada did her loudest ‘Cha”-yell and kicked one of the bandits in the face, and said bandit went down like a lead balloon.

"Aw, man! These ninja kids are competent! Let's scramble!" The leader of the bandits said but was knocked out because Sarada threw a rock at her (also to the face).

“Damn, Sarada. Save some for the rest of us!” Boruto muttered sourly while Mitsuki was tying the rest of the bandits up with a rope.

“I think you all did a great job!” Konohamaru-sensei said diplomatically.

“Especially Sarada,” Mitsuki said.

Boruto squinted at him aggressively, too offended to speak.

“What?” Mitsuki said. “She did most of the heavy lifting. She always does.”

“Hear, hear!” Sarada said jovially and gave Mitsuki a high-five.

“Do you _have to_ gang up against me?” Boruto muttered.

“I wasn’t,” Mitsuki said.

"In these kinds of situations it's better to just say that everyone did a great job, Mitsuki,” Konohamaru-sensei said.

“But it’s not true,” Mitsuki said.

“Hm, yeah, _no_. Let’s just agree to disagree,” Konohamaru-sensei said with that warning tone in his voice that let Mitsuki know that he was toeing the line.

Boruto grumbled sourly and gave both Sarada and Mitsuki dirty looks. Sarada sighed and gave dirty looks all around. Konohamaru-sensei whistled some elevator music while tying up the last of the bandits.

_Hm_.

**V.** **Boruto 3.0**

"That sun thing you keep mentioning me being, what does it mean?" Boruto asked one lazy afternoon at the fine dining establishment Thunder Burger.

“Well, yes,” Mitsuki said. "It's about you being the source of light that I, like the moon, will reflect and through that become a good person.”  
“What? So basically I’m your life coach? That’s weird, you’re a good person in your own right. You don’t need me to make your decisions for you.”

“ _What_?” Mitsuki said, parroting Boruto.

“It just sounds really weird, y' know,” Boruto said while eating a French fry. “Are you sure that whoever told you that wasn’t just making it up?”

“Careful,” Sarada said, momentarily looking up from her _Tween Vouge_ newspaper. “You’re gonna break him.”

“Hm,” Mitsuki said. He had not thought of it that critically before, and nor did he want to. It was too confusing.

”Excuse me for a second,” Mitsuki said, left his seat and walked over to the front door of Thunder Burger, and just left the building.

**I. Mitsuki**

Boruto idly twiddled his thumbs under the table, assuming that Mitsuki would just walk back into Thunder Burger at any second.

“I don’t think he’s coming back, he’s just running away from us,” Sarada deadpanned.

“What? No, he’s not!” Boruto replied.

“Yes, he is. Look, you can see him in the distance.”

Boruto squinted out of the window. Mitsuki really was sprinting away. He had gotten quite far at this point.

“Uh, I’m going to follow him. You in?” Boruto said.

Sarada only nodded in response.

*

Mitsuki was kind of easy to track (this time, at least), so they caught up pretty fast. In a dark alleyway, no less. Boruto could just barely make out the shape of Mitsuki sitting on the ground, turned away from them.

“Uh, Mitsuki, what are you doing here, buddy?” Boruto asked. “Sorry for following you but this is kind of weird! Dontcha’ think?”

“Maybe," Mitsuki responded. His voice was kind of muffled like he had buried his face in his shirt sleeves. As Boruto came closer, he could see that he had guessed right.

“So, a dark alleyway?” Sarada said. “Did you come here to think?”

“ _Maybe_.”

“Think about _what_?” Sarada said only slightly humoring.

“I don’t know,” Mitsuki said. “I mean, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do if that whole sun-moon thing was just something my parent made up. I mean, there are a million signs that point to it, but it’s what I’ve based my entire life and purpose on.”

“ _Uh_ ,” Boruto said, smartly. He felt like a fish out of water gasping for air. He had no idea what Mitsuki was even talking about (but it wasn’t very surprising that Orochimaru would put weird ideas in Mitsuki’s head). ”Well, I don’t think anyone knows what they’re doing in life at this point. I mean, does anyone have a plan? I sure don’t!

“I have,” Sarada said just before clamping a hand to her mouth. _Yeah, not helping right now._

“If you don’t have a grand purpose in life, you’ll be just like me,” Boruto said, reaching out to touch Mitsuki’s shoulder. “That’s not so bad, isn’t it?”

In response Mitsuki just kind of leaned his entire head against Boruto’s arm which was a bit unexpected, but not unwelcome. After a moment, he slowly turned his head and Boruto could now see his face, and it looked very red and mushy.

“Were you crying?” Boruto balked, snatching his hand back in surprise.

“No,” Mitsuki said, wiping his entire face with his shirt sleeve and standing up.

“ _O.K_ , guys,” Sarada said. “I can _feel_ the rats nibbling at my toes at this point, can we get out of here?”

“Yeah, let’s,” Mitsuki said, and parkour-jumped up to the rooftops.

Sarada just shrugged at Boruto, and Boruto shrugged back. Mitsuki was just about as much of a mystery as ever.

But maybe Boruto understood him a tiny bit better now, and they had gotten a tiny bit closer through it.


	2. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mitsuki vs internalized homophobia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HERE COMES THE ANGST

**VI. Boruto 4.0**

Just simply existing as _whatever_ kind of strange and deviant person Mitsuki undeniably was, was turning out to be incredibly lonely. He initially blamed it on of his unconventional origins, but maybe there was another answer. He’d always thought of himself as very straightforward and logical and making himself as clear as possible. But judging from how people treated him, it couldn't possibly be a very accurate assessment. For all his apparent bluntness, he’d never thought of actually asking if anyone else were feeling the same kind of overwhelming emotions they didn’t understand.

“Do you ever feel like you don’t understand your own emotions, Boruto?” Mitsuki asked, apropos of nothing but the internal monologue that had been urging him to ask that question for weeks.

“Um… _No_ ….” Boruto said. A beat of a moment passed where he just squirmed uncomfortably under Mitsuki’s gaze. Then:

“I mean, I guess that sometimes it’s tricky? I think it’s just part of growing up, at least that’s what Mom says…”

Mitsuki nodded. Maybe it was normal, then.

“What kind of emotions are the ones you don’t understand?” he asked.

Boruto’s face shifted, growing more frustrated by the second.

“Why I’m so angry sometimes, I guess,” Boruto muttered while threading his hands through his hair, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else in the world right now.

“It seems to me that most of your anger issues stem from your desire to get approval from your father, the 7th Hokage,” Mitsuki agreed.

“ _No_ , does not!” Boruto said. “That’s _so not true_ , it would be so dumb. What’s the thing you don’t understand, then, since you clearly don’t understand me at all?”

 _Well yes,_ you _. I desperately want to understand you because I’ve made you the focal point of my life and I’d rather feel this way than do anything else despite it being based on a lie_ is what came to mind, so Mitsuki told him that (more or less, he left out the last part).

“Hah-heh, good one.” Boruto sighed, but his coughed-out bark of a laugh didn’t quite crinkle the skin around his eyes. Which was a dead giveaway if any.

Like always, Mitsuki speaking his mind didn’t _quite_ work.

**VII. Strangers**

There was a word for what Mitsuki was, but he wouldn't even let himself think it. The way that word was carelessly spoken and spit out in conversations between random people passing him by in the street gave him the impression that they viewed it as _lesser than_ , to say the least. Just _wrong_ in general. He didn’t believe that, not really, but there was no try in letting people know yet another reason for not understanding him.

So, he kept silent.

**VIII. Cho Cho 2.0**

In the end, he did agree to go on a date with Cho Cho. During the (very confusing) movie they watched in the cinema, she reached for his hand. He snatched it out of her grasp upon which she rolled her eyes and went back to eating popcorn.

Afterward, she cornered him.

“Dude, this is not cool. If you don’t like me, don’t go out with me. Simple as that.” Cho Cho said.

"It's not like I dislike you. I do think you're very interesting," Mitsuki said.

“Yeah, no…” Cho Cho winced. “When you say that I’m interesting it sounds like I’m a worm you’re dissecting in biology class. It’s not particularly romantic, I’ll have you know.”

“Hm,” Mitsuki said. Perhaps the fact that his parent acted the sad, upsetting, utterly cruel way they unfortunately did had influenced his vocabulary quite a bit.

**IX. Konohamaru-sensei**

“You’re so quiet, Mitsuki," Konohamaru-sensei said once after a mission well completed. “Sarada and Boruto are always squabbling with each other, but not you! It’s great to have a student who’s so calm for once.”

“Thanks, it’s because I repress all of my emotions,” Mitsuki told him.

Konohamaru-sensei winced like he now regretted having initiated the conversation with him in the first place. But his sensei bravely soldiered on with:

“What kind of emotions do you mean? You know you can always talk to me about anything.”

“You wouldn’t understand.”  
“Well,” Konohamaru-sensei pressed on. “At least not if you don’t tell me!”

Mitsuki could tell him. He could tell him everything.

But he couldn’t this time.

**X. Mitsuki 2.0**

Nonetheless, he had to at some point.

**II. Cho Cho 3.0**

“Is there a reason why you asked me to come into this dark alley with you alone?” Cho Cho asked, raising her eyebrows and pursing her lips.

"Yes. I want to tell why I don't like you in the way you want me to." Mitsuki responded.

“Um, sounds like an absolutely appalling way to treat a lady.”

“Well, you at least seem to be very knowledgeable about the idea of romance. I was wondering if you knew what the word _gay_ meant.”

Cho Cho took a step back as her expression softened. She rubbed her perfectly manicured hands over her face and murmured something that sounded very similar to _Ok, I got it._

"I do know what it means, yes," she said. "You know, you don't _have to_ tell me that about yourself just to get me to forgive you for ‘ _leading me on’_ or whatever. Your privacy is more important than that, and I had already forgiven you anyways.”

“I just wanted to tell somebody.”

“Oh,” Cho Cho said. “Well, in that case, do you want a hug? I give great hugs.”

Turned out she really, _really_ did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Thanks, it’s because I repress all of my emotions,” Mitsuki told him.
> 
> you don't say, enoby dark'ness dementia raven way x)


	3. III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth can set you free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh heya I continued this and i think this is the end! slight warning for some descriptions of the aftermath of abuse(angst, basically) and some slightly disturbing comparisons to animal agriculture that might be upsetting to some
> 
> EDIT: 31/10-19 i added a small scene at the end to make the fic feel more complete :)

**XI. Mitsuki 3.0**

Boruto had an inkling of a feeling or perhaps a slight hunch, if you will, about Mitsuki maybe not having the healthiest of relationships with himself. Case in point; the vast number of times Mitsuki had volunteered to sacrifice himself for the good of the group (or rather, for Boruto’s sake) and the time he just ran away randomly without saying _anything_ to anyone even though Boruto had shown him nothing but what he at least thought was kindness.

  
If Boruto continued with this line of reasoning, which he did way too often for it to be entirely comfortable, the only conclusion he could come up with was that perhaps Mitsuki’s parentage and the myriad of back-up clones in Orochimaru’s basement had something to do with it. However, he didn’t feel comfortable asking because whenever Mitsuki would, in turn, ask him about his trouble with his own father Boruto would suddenly feel so angry that he wouldn’t be able to answer accurately (and sometimes even respond with things that he didn’t really mean and later feel intensely ashamed over it). There had been that time in the alleyway where Mitsuki had sort of opened up (maybe???), but there was still so much Boruto still wanted to ask…

  
So yes, he genuinely did want to understand Mitsuki but felt too awkward to ask. He wasn't proud of it, and the guilt didn’t exactly make things easier.

  
  
**XII. Orochimaru**

For Mitsuki, one thing was certain: his parent had evidently done _something_ to him. Whenever he thought of whatever it was, it felt like being torn apart and being thrown to the gutter, left there to bleed to death utterly alone. So he just didn’t. The knowledge (maybe more like hazy dream-like not-quite flashes of memories) of it ever happening was just too painful. Repressing trauma turned out to not help much though so the effects of nobody coming close to understanding Mitsuki nor his erratic life choices were unavoidable. A pity, really.

  
He couldn’t exactly leave either. The curse mark might activate by killing him instantly, his parent would just replace him with a clone, and most likely continue onward with their experiments. The whole process Mitsuki imagined being akin to what one would do with farm animals bred for slaughter, or lab rats in too-small cages. Did Orochimaru know they were causing Mitsuki pain? He wondered about it(a lot) but never asked. They probably just didn’t know, right?

  
In retrospect, it wasn't all that strange that upon moving to Konoha, Mitsuki had latched onto the first person(/concept) that he thought would make him happy. But that was all very complicated nowadays. Telling (parts of) the truth to one safe person had felt freeing, and he was sure that he and Cho Cho had gotten even closer through it. But he wasn’t sure of how to move forward.  


  
**XIII. Boruto 5.0**

"Why did you even leave in the first place? To the land of the Earth, I mean,” Boruto asked, sounding both frustrated and vaguely upset. “You never told me.”  
“That’s because I can’t,” Mitsuki said simply. “It’s all too complicated.”  
Boruto’s gaze flickered nervously between him and the _Thunder Burger_ table in front of them, like he wanted to say something but couldn’t quite bring himself to utter the words.  
“Was it me?” he began, quietly. “I know I can be a bit insensitive sometimes. Can I do something differently?”  
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Mitsuki assured him, but it didn’t seem to help.  
A silent pause that seemed to stretch out for eons followed. It hurt. A lot.

  
  
**XIV. Konohamaru-sensei 2.0**

 _“What kind of emotions do you mean? You know you can always talk to me about anything.”Konohamaru-sensei had said, genuinely trying to help like always._  
Maybe it was time to actually open up to him, about everything.

**XV. Mitsuki 4.0**

Being open and honest and finally able to explain made everything so much better, now that he felt safe enough to do so.  


  
**III. Sarada**

Sarada prided herself on being an incredibly perceptive person, and as a result that made her worry a lot about certain things. Among those things were her team that honestly was a bit of a disaster. Both Mitsuki and Boruto were so incredibly detached and immature respectively that Sarada had to pick up their slack through the painfully womanly plight of emotional labor. It weighed on her. Honestly, she felt like she was going insane at the tender age of twelve sometimes.

  
But suddenly, something shifted with Mitsuki and he started telling her and Boruto things that explained so much, and the team was all better for it. Sometimes it skittled towards the awkward territory of ‘oversharing’, sure, but it was all for the best in the long run. Now, she looked forward to just being able to grow up with her friends like a regular person, and not be squeezed into an eternal mom-role against her wishes. It took a lot of the pressure off, which was freeing in ways she couldn’t quite comprehend yet.

_One time, Mitsuki had asked, "Boruto, do you remember that one time I told you that your hair looked like a bunch of bananas?"_

_"No," Boruto replied, his eyes flickering from left to right like a liar._

_"I remember it!" Sarada said. "It was hilarious." She didn't understand why Boruto wouldn't admit to remembering it though._

_"I actually meant it as a compliment," Mitsuki said. "I think your hair actually looks very nice and soft."_

_"Oh!" Boruto replied, surprised. "Well, uh, thanks for clarifying! My hair_ is _nice! Ehm, do you wanna..?" With this, he suddenly grabbed Mitsuki's hand and placed it on top of his (very much banana-colored) head of hair._

_"Hm, yes. It is just as I imagined," Mitsuki said sagely, nodding very seriously and making no effort at move his hand away from Boruto's grasp or his hair for that matter, and suddenly Sarada couldn't stop laughing._

  
The future looked bright.

_The End_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> please leave comments and kudos if u like dis lol


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